Parallel
by OneManParade
Summary: Beatrice Prior in a PARALLEL universe where everything is slightly different. You know, she makes a few different choices and falls in love with a different guy. No big deal. (T) because It's from the P.O.V. of a teen. (SPOILERS maybe?) Four is still here, he's still A love interest, he's just not THE love interest. So, don't panic, "46" makes an appearance. Chill.
1. Welcome to Dauntless

1.

_Welcome to Dauntless_

"Wait a second," an Erudite girl pipes up, looking from the ledge to Max. "You want us to Jump?" She bats her long lashes in disbelief and licks her big lips.

"Are you surprised?" Max looks as if he is about to smile. The Erudite girl, however begins to shift from foot to foot.

"What's down there?" She asks so many questions. I don't know what she's expecting. This is _Dauntless_. They don't just give out answers. Here, you earn them.

"Who knows?" Max is almost imploring us to jump as he raises an eyebrow; to take that leap of faith.

The crowd of initiates grows silent then suddenly there are two crowds. I look around. Everyone is occupied with cleaning their fingernails or finding lint on their clothes. No one wants to be the first to jump. _No one wants to jump_

I find myself staring at a boy several inches taller than me with black hair that shines in the light. His skin is flawless and his high cheekbones should seem feminine, but they give off a more angelic look on him. He's biting at his knuckles and looking at the ground when I propel myself forward. I'm unsure if the beating in my chest is from the brief eye contact we just shared or what I'm about to do.

_This is just a part of initiation_ I think as I walk up to Max, passing the other initiates. I feel eyes scrutinize my tiny figure, but I don't care. I am proud. And even though pride is dangerous, right now, it gives me courage, so I won't apologize.

I tug on my jacket as I approach the ledge, wanting to feel the wind on my bare arms.

"Careful, Stiff. Wouldn't want you to ruin your clothes," says Molly, who's standing by the angelic, dark haired boy. _Peter_, I think. I hear other phrases that include the words "stiff" or "abnegation", but I'm not completely listening. My focus is on Peter, as he remains quiet, but his eyes are glued to me, watching as I shrug the sweater over my shoulders. I toss it to Molly, hitting her square in the face and drawing what I think is the hint of a smile to Peter's lips. But when I blink, it's disappeared.

"Here," I say, smoothing down the grey t-shirt I'm left in. "You're gonna need it." I turn, nod to Max, and decide a running start is the best approach. I don't look back.

My body feels backwards as I plummet towards the ground. My stomach rises into my chest and my brain pounds into my skull until suddenly, the wind is knocked out of me. For a few moments, I forget how to breath. Then, I'm lying completely still in the middle of a huge net. I reach up to wipe my brow and notice my hands are shaking. _I just jumped from a rooftop._

Surrounding me, are hands reaching out; welcoming me. I grasp the hand nearest me and pull myself off the edge of the net, then I fall to the floor.

"Woah, there. You alright?" A deep voice rumbles from above me. I shake my head and begin to stand up.

"Alright from jumping off the edge of a building or from my _graceful_ dismount?" As I stand I notice that the body this voice belongs to is definitely masculine and built. He begins to say something, but is cut off by another voice.

"No way." She says, sounding enthusiastic. "A stiff? Jumping first? That's" she stammers. "That's impossible."

"Impossible, Lauren?" The man in front of me turns his head to the side to look and the woman behind him. "She had a reason for leaving" I notice that he has almost no upper lip, but his bottom lip makes up for it.

"Everyone does." Lauren sounds condifent in her faction. "But is it the right reason?" The man in front of me just shakes his head and turns back to face me.

"What's your name?"

"Be-" I pause. I don't know why, but Beatrice Prior suddenly seems like somebody else. Somebody I don't want to be. Not her. Not here.

"Take your time," He says, a glint in his eyes that hints at mischief. "You only get to choose once."

I don't want to be Beatrice anymore. I think it's time for a change.

"Beau," I say testing the name on my tongue.

"Beau?" Lauren asks behind the man in front of me.

"Beau," I say, nodding. This is the name that I want. No more Beatrice.

"But, isn't that a boy's name?" Lauren sounds unsure, but the man in front of me just raises his eyebrows in a question. I nod again.

"Alright, Four. You know what to do." Lauren sounds enthusiastic again.

The man in front of me - presumably Four - turns his head to the side and shouts.

"We have our first jumper!" I hear hoots and shouts and I can't help but grin. "Beau: A transfer from Abnegation." Not six seconds after my name is called, Christina is screaming her way down to the net. I laugh, and I feel so free while doing it.

Four puts his hand on my shoulder and smiles down at me. I feel a shiver creep up my spine. I'm not used to such casual, physical contact.

"Welcome to Dauntless, Beau." I shrug out of his hold.

"Thank you, Four."

**Author's Note: I know this was a weird place to start. If you guys decide that you like it, I'll start from the beginning. Otherwise, I'm just going to keep going from here.**

**Oh, and _Beau_ is pronounced "Bo". Please, don't kill me for changing her name. D:**


	2. The Pit

2.

_The Pit_

I don't know if it's hour, minutes or seconds until all of the initiates are standing on firm ground. The hum of excitement around me should be distracting, but as we are guided down a narrow tunnel, I notice the cold draft, and the stone walls. We are tunneling farther and farther away from natural light. I look up at the artificial lights flickering above us every six or seven feet and I shiver. I wish I had my jacket.

Four, one of the two leading this parade deeper into darkness, has his shoulders set and stern and from his calm, relaxed demeanor from earlier has vanished. He glances over his shoulder, and even though his eyes do not meet mine, my steps falter and an Erudite girl bumps into me. She fixes me with an annoyed look and opens her mouth.

"Would you watch where you're-"

"Here's where we split," says Four, letting his gaze drift around the initiates and linger on me then flicker across the other faces again. "Dauntless born, you're with Lauren." He points to Lauren, who stands taller and smiles widely.

"I assume _you guys_ don't need a tour." She spins abruptly and passes Four, leading the Dauntless born initiates out of my line of sight one-by-one until the last head bobs for the last time behind Four. I look at the initiates who remain. Of us, I am the only Abnegation and none are Amity. I expected Erudite initiates, but not so many from Candor. I look at Christina, who appears to be summing up our host. It must take a lot of bravery to be so honest. Not that I would know.

"I," Four begins to address us, but pauses. "I am your Instructor."

"Do you have a name?" Christina raises an inquisitive eyebrow

"Yes. Four." Four nods, putting his hands behind his back and relaxing his shoulders slightly.

"You have four names?" Christina's inquisitive brow furrows in confusion.

"No, my _name_ is Four." Four's face doesn't change, but his tone takes an aggravated edge.

"As in the number?"

"Yes." Four watches Christina's reaction closely. She looks at me thinning her lips. "Is there a problem?"

"No," Christina answers quickly and Four turns around. She mouths the word _yes_ to me as we all fall into step behind him.

"We're heading to the Pit."

"The pit?" Four stops in his tracks as Christina whispers to me. "Couldn't think of any other inspiring name for the place?" She doesn't see Four take two large steps toward us, but I do, and I take a tentative step back. Christina slowly looks up at Four.

"Who are you, transfer?" Christina just blinks at Four's question.

"Name, now, transfer."

"Christina," I can just barely hear her.

"You know, Christina, if I wanted to hear Candor banter all day, I'd be in Candor right now." He turns to me then. "Your first lesson from me is to learn when to keep your mouth shut." I nod.

Four turns back to the front of our group and continues where he left off.

"I hope that one day, you'll come to love and appreciate _the pit_." I see his head turn to the side as he leads us into more shadowy halls. I'm not sure how I will ever be able to navigate these tunnels alone.

After what feels like a half an hour of awkward silence, Four pushes a wide set of doors open and we walk into what I can only assume is "the pit". Next to me, Christina inhales a lungful of air.

"Oh, the _pit_," she breathes "_Now,_ I get it."

So do I. I've never seen a cavern so huge. I don't want to look up, but when I do, I see that large rocks rise for an eternity over my head. I feel so small. There are spaces for food and supplies and _leisure_ actually carved into the rock formations. The most interesting things I notice are the paths and stairs scattered all over the pit, and none of them have railings.

The roof of the pit is one giant sheet of glass that is reimbursed for support, but I'm not interested in the roof. I can see the sun. Above the glass there is a building that must be made entirely of glass, because it let's the sunlight pour in. I wonder if we passed this building on the train. We couldn't have. I would have noticed _this_.

"Careful there, Stiff." A voice whispers in my ear. I whirl around. Peter is smiling down at me. "Isn't there a rule against marveling at pretty things?"

"Yes, Peter, isn't there?" Christina comes up beside me and puts her hands on her hips. Peter laughs.

"What are you trying to say exactly." His eyes are on Christina, but his body is facing me.

"I'm saying 'get out of here'." After a minute, Christina takes me by the arm and drags me away.

People everywhere are dressed in black and laughing or shouting, some are even talking with their hands. None of them are very old. As I take a closer look, I don't see any old Dauntless. Where do they go when they get old? Or does nobody last that long in Dauntless?

"Now, if you'll come with me," says Four at the head of our now spread out group of initiates. "I'll take you to the chasm."

**Author's Note: So... I'm keeping her nickname _Beau_... for now. Please don't vandalize my car. I'm probably going to go in and change it back to Tris, so you can sleep easy tonight knowing that she'll be Tris again. Maybe, possibly, probably. **

**Sorry this was a really boring chapter. OR WAS IT? Yeah, it was. Forgive me. **


	3. Mustard

Four is plain compared to the other dauntless that I've seen. He bares no piercings and his hair is cropped short. A blotch of ink creeps off the top collar of his t-shirt. I watch as it bobs in and out of sight as he walks. He guides us to the right side of the pit. It is dark, conspicuously dark. Suddenly, I notice that the path we were walking on has turned into solid iron. The sound of rushing water fills my ears as we approach the first railing I've see today.

Hesitantly, I peek over the side. We're standing on the edge of a cliff. Several stories below is the sound of water, but I don't see it. I can feel it though. A mist sprays my face.

"The chasm is a reminder!" Four shouts. I step back from the railing, wiping my face. "There's a very fine line between bravery," he looks at me. "And Idiocy!" He looks at Christina who is now one person away from me. Peter stands between us.

"A daredevil jump," Four continues. "off of this ledge will be your final stunt!" He steps closer to us, so we can hear him over the roaring water. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

"Well, he certainly knows how to make a girl feel welcome," Christina says crossing behind Peter as we begin to move from the chasm.

Peter stands still, fixated by the chasm. I reach out to grab him just as he turns to follow us out.

"What do you want, Stiff?" I halt, hand outstretched. Peter takes a step toward me. He looks angry, but I don't know why he would be.

"My name's not 'Stiff', you know."

"It is to me." Peter shoves past me, bumping my shoulder so hard I need to take a steadying step backwards. I watch him follow four away from the chasm and see his glance back at me. I'm surprised by how quickly his flash of anger has turned into something else. Curiosity? Is he curious about what lies on the other side of the only railing in Dauntless headquarters? Because I'm pretty sure Four made it pretty clear just what exactly is waiting for us down there. Wherever there is.

Four leads our group across the pit toward an almost camouflaged hole in the wall. The hole turns into brighter, more welcoming dining hall. I hear it before I see it. Silverware clatters in the distance, people laugh and shout, and tables are shoved from one spot to another. When we walk in, and can I hear the Dauntless before I see them. They applaud, they shout, they praise. And it's all for us. We made it. I made it. I look over at Christina, she is smiling. It takes a moment to realize that I am too.

After the applause, Christina and look for any two empty seats in the room and find the only two left are beside Peter at the edge of a table. I look at Christina, but the devilish look in her eyes tells me that I won't be the one sitting on the end.

As I slump into my seat next to Peter, I notice the circular pieces of meat wedged between round bread slices. Hesitantly, I pick one up and examine it.

"What are you doing?" Asks Christina, as she takes a bite of one of the strange objects and continues holding it with two hands. I look at Peter, to the right of me, who is holding his with one. He catches me staring and uncharacteristically smiles, drawing a blush to my cheeks.

"It's beef," he says, taking my object out of my hands and taking a slice of the bread off. He grabs a spoon from a bowl full of yellow sauce and smoothes some on to the brown meat patty. "I like mine with mustard."

"Mustard." I repeat the word, watching Peter reapply the bread and hand me my beef and bread.

"You've never had a hamburger before?" Christina's eyes are the size of our plates. She seems surprised.

"No," I say. "What'd you call them again?"

"Hamburgers. And Stiffs eat plain food, Christina." Peter says, taking a bit of his hamburger.

"Why?" Didn't Christina listen at all when Four told us to learn when to shut up earlier?

I just shrug.

"We don't self-indulge in Abnegation. And I guess hamburgers are self-indulgent."

"They," Christina corrects. "And no wonder you left."

"Yes," I agree. "The food was horrible." I think for a moment as Christina and Peter begin to laugh. "Probably worst when I had to cook." Christina doubles over and Peter shakes in silent giggles. I smile, looking across the table at Four, whose looking elsewhere, but I see the corner of his mouth quiver.


End file.
